Suspended NJ Police Officer and Wife Charged in Death of 3-Month-Old Daughter

The investigation began on Dec. 5, 2018, when medics responded to the couple’s home in Ewing Township for a report of an unresponsive baby girl having difficulty breathing

By David Chang and Drew Smith •Published July 17, 2019•Updated on July 18, 2019 at 12:05 am

What to Know

Daniel Bannister, 31, is charged in the murder of his 3-month-old daughter Hailey, who died in December of last year.

Bannister's wife and Hailey's mother Catherine Bannister is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Daniel Bannister was suspended from the Ewing Township Police Department in December.

A suspended New Jersey police officer was arrested and charged in the murder of his baby girl.

Daniel Bannister, 31, was taken into custody Wednesday morning at a Wawa store on Silvia Street in Ewing, New Jersey. He’s charged with the murder of his 3-month-old daughter Hailey Bannister. Bannister’s wife and Hailey’s mother, 29-year-old Catherine Bannister, was also charged Wednesday with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in connection to the girl’s death.

The investigation began on Dec. 5, 2018, when medics responded to the couple’s home in Ewing Township for a report of an unresponsive baby girl having difficulty breathing. Hailey was taken to Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell where doctors determined she suffered a fractured skull, brain bleed and multiple fractured ribs. She was transferred to Robert Wood Johnson Children’s Hospital and was pronounced dead on December 11.

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and Homicide Task Force were contacted due to the suspicious nature of the girl’s injuries. An autopsy determined the girl died from blunt impact trauma of the head, which included skull fractures and subdural hemorrhage. Her death was ruled a homicide and investigators said the injuries indicated an ongoing pattern of abuse.

NBC10 visited the couple's home Wednesday night for comment. A man who did not identify himself claimed Bannister had been falsely accused.

Bannister's neighbor told NBC10 he had seen warning signs.

"He kept getting real aggressive with me," the neighbor said. "Screaming a whole bunch of nonsense all around the neighborhood."

Daniel Bannister had been hired by the Ewing Township Police Department in May, of 2017 but has been suspended from the force since December. The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office filed motions to detain Bannister and his wife pending trial.